Aankho Ka Parda.
"Hain Zaroori Aurat Ke Liye, Parda Zinat Ka.
Magar Waajib Mardo par bhi hain Nigahe Kabu Main Rakhna."
It is necessary for a woman to cover up her beauty, but it is also compulsory for men to control their gazes.
* * *
The chatter of female voices could be heard from the kitchen, as the men sipped their tea in silence, occasionally exchanging a word or two.
Everyone awaited the arrival of Daaniyaal and Naailah.
Dawood had already left for the airport.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, Waqaas had decided not to go to work even though he would have been home before their afternoon tea.
The real reason for staying away from work was obviously only known to him.
His joy knew no bounds as he waited anxiously for his father to arrive.
If he could help it he would have accompanied his father, but he knew his father would refuse as he had to stay behind with their geusts who had arrived from Pakistan and who now resided in their home for who knows how long!
Manaal walked into the room, holding a tray laiden with bowls of milky vermicelli.
She served her father and younger brother first, then walked over to Waqaas with a shy smile, extending the tray towards him.
He picked up a bowl from the tray, trying his best to sport a look of disinterest, but his Maami was way too observant.
She knew well that Waqaas had no interest in marrying her daughter and she was having none of his nonsense.
She observed his expressions from the kitchen and when she saw her daughters uneasy expression due to Waqaas's disinterest, she bulleted towards the living room.
She wound her arm around her daughter and looked at her with pride shinning in her eyes.
"Meri pyaari guriya ne saweya tayaar ki hain aaj, sab kuch pakaane lag gay hain ab. Boht jald us ki shaadi bi karlenge hum!"
(My beautiful doll made the vermicelli today. She started cooking everything now. Very soon we're going to marry her off!)
She tried to hint at Waqaas.
Waqaas swallowed the vermicelli, so speedily, he almost choked.
When she saw that he had no response, she continued pestering him.
"To batao, zaaika kesa hain?"
(So tell me, how does it taste?)
He passed her a tight lipped smile.
"Maa Shaa Allah, zabardast!"
(Excellent!)
When he uttered those words, Manaal's lips tilted into a smile and a blush crawled up her porcelain cheeks.
He immediately regretted what he had said.
Irritated with himself, he excused himself and flew out of the front door, before his Aunty could hint any further.
Just as he shut the front door, he saw his fathers car pulling into the driveway and instantly his mood brightened.
He walked swiftly to the car, engulfing his brother in a manly hug, just as he stepped out of the car.
While Daaniyaal was shocked at his brother's unusual display of affection, what he didn't know was that his brother only hugged him that way so he could distract him while he oggled Naailah, who looked flushed from the long journey, yet she still had a radiant smile adorning her face.
Naailah passed Waqaas a small smile and a quick greeting, as she scurried past him and into the house, hoping to get a long and relaxing shower as well as some delicious home cooked food.
Oh how much she missed home food!
They hadn't even gone for that long, yet it felt like she hadn't eaten proper food for ages!
Once she entered the house, she stepped back in surprise as a body crashed into her and dainty arms wrapped around her.
"You're finally back!"
She squealed.
When she heard the slightly different accent and the voice, she realised who it was.
"Manaal, what are you doing here!?"
She hugged her back, grinning at her.
"You will find out very soon!"
Manaal winked, as she snatched Naailah's handbag as well as her duffel bag and followed her into the kitchen.
She waited for her to greet the women of the house, then followed her into the room.
Manaal brought a tray of frozen yoghurt and cold water for Naailah and Daaniyaal, then ordered Naailah to freshen up and rest, while she helped to set the table.
After a long, hot and relaxing shower, she slipped into a simple lime green shalwaar kameez and wrapped a towel around her head, as she stepped out of the bathroom, her body feeling somewhat relaxed after the long journey.
At that very moment, Daaniyaal walked into the room, locking the door behind him.
He walked over to Naailah, who sat on the bed, towel drying her hair.
Exhausted, he rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes as she pecked his forehead lovingly.
Naailah scrunched her nose.
"Go and bath, you smell horrible!"
He lifted his head, flashing her a dazzling smile.
"Smelly or not, I'm still as handsome as I was the day you married me !"
She giggled.
"You're speaking like we're married for years!"
He smiled at her lovingly, pulling her closer he rested his chin on her head.
"Doesn't it feel like we are?"
A smile adorned her lips and a rogue blush crept up her cheeks.
She was thankful that he couldn't see her face at that moment.
She swatted him away after a few seconds.
"Please yaar, go and bath. Why are men so lazy to shower!"
He groaned.
"I already have a mother! Stop acting like Ammi. Can we just sleep first, I will shower later, I promise."
He kicked off his shoes, then lifted the covers, sliding into bed.
"But they've prepared lunch for us!"
Naailah protested.
She was in no mood of sleeping.
She had already planned out how she would spend the afternoon.
S1he was going to shower, change into something comfortable, eat a good meal, then unpack all the gifts she had bought for everyone and then share the exciting trip with Manaal.
"I've already told them to continue eating without us and that we will eat later."
She sat next to Daaniyaal with her arms folded.
"I don't want to sleep, I'm not tired!"
He tugged her by her arm, forcing her to lay down.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around her waist, protectively.
"Please sleep jaani, for my sake. Even if you're not tired, just lay here with me."
He pleaded softly.
She huffed, but gave in to him anyway.
How could she say no, when he asked so sweetly!
Stupid man, he knew exactly how to make her obey him willingly.
* * *
The atmosphere in the room was tense as he shared his thoughts with his family.
Everyone listened to him silently, no one dared to interrupt him while he spoke, but once he completed what he had to say, his wife began breathing out fire.
He was not the least bit surprised though, as he expected such a reaction from her.
"Ye me kya sunrahi hu Saaqib Saab?Main us besharam larki ko is ghar ka hisa kabi nahi hone dungi!"
(What is this I'm hearing..?
I will never allow that immodest girl to be a part of our home!)
Saaqib looked at her calmly.
"Wo besharam larki nahi hain, izzat daar khandaan se hain. Maa baap ne us ko achi tarbiyat di hain, bas naadaan thi, aur ek ghalti kiye us ne."
(She's not an immodest girl, she's from a respectable family. Her mother and father gave her a good upbringing. She was just young and naive and she made one mistake.)
She lifted her hand up.
"Bas! Me ye bakwaas nahi sunaa chaati! Agar besharam nahi hain, achi khandaan se hain, aur maa baap ne achi tarbiyat diye, phir wo larkaa ke saath ghar se kyu bhaag ke ghaaib ho gayi?"
(Enough! I don't want to hear all this nonsense. If she's not an immodest girl, she's from a good family and her parents gave her a good upbringing, then why did she run away with a boy ?)
When Ayaan heard his mother's words, his gaze met his father's.
He wanted to know if it was true.
When he saw his fathers head drop down, he got his answer.
So it was true, it wasn't rumours he was hearing all this time!
He was ready to marry her, for he wanted to comfort her in sadness, lend her a shoulder to cry on and replace those broken and despondent eyes with a twinkle of happiness, but now he wasn't so sure he could.
What if she wanted the other guy back in her life, what if she was sad because they were no more together?
He didn't want to be in a one sided relationship and he also didn't want his wife's heart to be attached to another man.
"Larkaa ne us ki saath shaadi ki thi, zina me nahi reh rahi thi!"
(The boy married her , she wasn't living in adultery!)
"Tumhe kese yaqeen hain, jhoot bhi bol sakti hain!"
(How do you know? She could have lied.)
"Thaboot hain, Mahmood saab ne kaaghaz dekhaya thaa, jis Imaam ne un ke Nikaah karwaye us se milaa thaa, aur talaaq ke kaagaz bhi dekha tha. Agar shaadi nahi kiye, to wo larka talaaq ke kaaghaz kyu bechta?"
(There is proof. Mahmood saw the Nikaah certificate, he met the Imaam who made the Nikaah and he also saw the divorce papers. If there was no marriage, why would the boy send divorce papers?)
Her nose flared with anger.
"Phir bi, mera beta us se shaadi hargiz nahi karega, us larki ke koi izzat nahi hain. Wo pehle shaadi shuda thi!"
(Still, my son cannot marry her. She has no honour as she was already married before.)
Saaqib heard enough, he banged his fist on the coffe table, raising his voice as he spoke.
"Bas karo. Ye bakwaas hain, bilkul bakwaas! Shaadi shuda thi, to phir kya!! Nabi Kareem Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam ke saare biwiya siwa A'aisha RadhiyAllahu Anha pehle shaadi shuda the! Agar Dunya ke sab se behtar insaan aise aurat se shaadi karsakte the, to hum kyu nahi! Maana ke us ne thik tariqa se shaadi nahi kiye, lekin ghalti kiye us ne. Hum sab ghaltiya karte hain!"
(Enough! This is nonsense, utter nonsense! If she was married before then what?! All the wives of Nabi Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, besides Aaisha RadhiyAllahu Anha were married before. If the world's best creation could marry a woman who was married before, then why can't we? I admit that she didn't get married the appropriate way, but she made a mistake. We all make mistakes!)
"Wo sab sach hain, lekin.."
(All that is true, but..)
"Yahaa par baat khattam. Ab fesla Ayaan ka hain, agar wo Bushra se shaadi karnaa chahta hain, to mujhe koi etraz nahi hain. Agar wo shaadi nahi karnaa chahta, wo bhi hume manzoor hain."
(This topic ends here. The decision is now Ayaan's, if he wants to marry Bushra I have no objection and if he doesn't want to marry her, I will accept that.)
Saying that with a tone of finality, Saaqib walked out of the living room, leaving his wife in complete rage, his daughters in shock and his son in a state of utter confusion.
* * *
He walked around the apartment aimlessly.
Despite the apartment being a luxurious and spacious one, he felt suffocated, as if the walls were closing in on him.
Even though it was decorated with the best furniture, each piece of furniture depressed him, as it brought back a memory of where he had purchased it from with his wife.
The weather was beautifully radiant outside, but he felt sad, lonely, gloomy and utterly helpless.
Farnaaz had left for her parents house two days ago and before hastily leaving, she had promised that she would convince him to give her a divorce.
He had sternly told her that he would never do such a thing.
On hearing that, she had assured him that he would divorce her out of his own will, very very soon.
He was left baffled at her statement and he had no choice, but to let her go.
It sounded like she was threatening to show him something that would force him to separate from her willingly and even though he wished that she never did such a thing, a tiny part of him was impatient to find out what she meant.
He still couldn't understand why she didn't want to discuss the matter with him, why she simply demanded a divorce and gave him no genuine reason?
As he approached the kitchen in order to fix himself a quick meal , he heard his phone buzzing on the kitchen counter.
When he opened up his whatsapp , a few images were sent to him from an unknown number. As he clicked on the images and waited for them to download, his heart thundered violently against his rib cage.
As soon as he saw the first picture, his heart plummeted to the ground and it felt as if the ground had been snatched from beneath his feet.
Farnaaz was standing in what looked like a mall and a muscular looking guy had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, both of them smiled widely, looking extremely happy.
He couldn't believe his eyes, his blood began boiling and rage filled his heart, but before he jumped to conclusions, he first scrolled down to look at the other pictures sent to him and his doutbs were confirmed.
Farnaaz had been going out with another man all this time!
In the second picture, the guy was holding her in a tight embrace, while kissing her head.
The third picture, was at a restaurant, she was wearing a very low cut top, and she had no scarf wrapped around her head, the guy's arm was wrapped around her shoulders yet again, but this time he was kissing her cheek.
Why was she dressed like that, had she no shame?
Raees felt like finding the guy and punching him in his face right away.
No one had the right to hold his wife and be so close to his wife, besides him!
The fourth picture was at a park that looked very familiar, he was kneeling on one knee infront of a waterfall and Farnaaz had a shocked expression on her face.
How could he have proposed to her while she was still married to him?
Did this guy even know that she was married?
The answer to his question came in the form of a message below the fourth image.
Unknown Number:
Sorry dude! I know it sucks to see your wife in the embrace of another man, but it is what it is.... Faru wants a divorce from you because as you've probably figured out, she wants to marry me after her iddat.
Oh and she apologises for asking for a divorce in this way, it was the only way you could be convinced that she's serious about leaving you.
There were more pictures, but he didn't have the courage to look any more.
With a loud crash, his phone fell to the floor and he sat down on the cold tiles, burying his face in his hands, as an ocean of tears flowed abundantly from his grieved eyes.
He sobbed and sobbed till his throat turned dry, till his body shook, till his eyes could no longer produce any more tears.
There was never a time in his life that he felt the way he did now.
Worthless, Used, Helpless and broken.
* * *
Maami - Mother's brother's wife.
😭 My poor Raees...💔💔💔 I'm so sorry for doing this to you!
Anyway ... Asssalmualaykum my dears! I hope you all are well.
I'm soooo, very , extremely, utterly sorry for the super duper late update. I hope you all forgive me... 🙁
In Shaa Allah I'm hoping to update atleast once a week, as I feel like this book and my other ongoing book are both dragging on for too long and need to be completed.
Also I would like to start the book Faithful to you very very soon and I'm highly excited about writing that book, for those of you who know me you will know why! 😉😉
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Loads of love ❤❤
*Jawhariy*